When Scrolling Starts to Shape How We Eat! The quiet influence of social media on our relationship with food

Many of the young people I work with don’t read diet books anymore.

They’re not buying weight-loss magazines. They’re not signing up to strict diet programs.

Yet they are still surrounded by powerful messages about food, bodies and “health”.

Those messages arrive quietly — through their phones.

Through endless scrolling. Through short videos that appear harmless, entertaining, even inspiring. But over time, those messages can begin to shape how someone thinks about food, their body, and themselves.

Diet Culture Has Changed Its Shape

Diet culture today rarely calls itself a diet.

Instead it appears disguised as:

“What I eat in a day” videos; “Healthy girl routines”; Low-calorie dessert hacks; ; “Fat loss tips”; High-protein recipes; Gut-health advice; Before-and-after transformations.

Many of these videos are presented as wellness, discipline or self-improvement.

But underneath the surface, the message is often the same.

Eat less. Control food. Change your body.

For someone who already feels uncertain about food, these messages can land heavily.

The Algorithm Learns What You Pause On

One of the most powerful aspects of platforms like TikTok is the algorithm.

It doesn't just show you what you like, it shows you what you pause on.

You might stop for a moment on:

a transformation video; a body check; someone sharing what they eat in a day; a “low calorie” recipe.

Suddenly your feed begins to fill with more of the same.

Without realising it, someone can quickly move from casual curiosity to a feed full of:

portion comparisons; diet advice; body comparisons; “clean eating” messages.

Over time, this can start to normalise restriction!

When you see something enough times, it begins to feel ordinary — even when it isn't healthy.

The Comparison Trap

Scrolling also creates endless opportunities for comparison.

Within minutes someone might see:

a fitness influencer; a carefully edited body check; a tiny “girl dinner”; a dramatic transformation video.

Even when we know these images are curated, filtered and staged, the emotional impact can still land.

A quiet thought appears.

Why don’t I look like that?

Maybe I should eat like that.

Maybe I should try harder.

For someone vulnerable to an eating disorder, or already struggling with food, these comparisons can slowly strengthen restrictive thinking.

“What I Eat in a Day” Videos

These videos are everywhere.

They can seem harmless — even helpful.

But they can also become a blueprint for comparison.

Viewers begin to notice:

portion sizes; calorie estimates; how little someone eats; what foods appear “allowed”

Food stops being something that nourishes.

Instead it becomes something to analyse, compare and control.

A Personal Reflection

Sometimes I reflect on how different things were when I was younger.

Eating disorder thoughts but they came from magazines, calorie books and conversations.

Today, young people carry a constant stream of food and body messages in their pockets.

It is no longer an occasional influence.

It is constant exposure!

And that can make it incredibly difficult to build a calm, trusting relationship with food.

A Quiet but Powerful Influence

Social media doesn’t need to tell someone to develop an eating disorder.

It only needs to repeat the same quiet messages often enough:

"smaller is better"; "eating less is success"

Over time those messages stop feeling like outside voices.

They start to feel like your own thoughts.

Signs Social Media Might Be Affecting Your Relationship With Food

You might notice:

Feeling guilty after seeing “healthy eating” videos; Comparing your meals to influencers; Saving restrictive recipes you don’t even enjoy; Feeling pressure to eat less; Thinking more about food rules after scrolling; Body-checking after certain accounts appear on your feed.

These shifts often happen slowly.

Many people don’t realise how much their thinking has been influenced until it begins to affect how they eat.

Finding Balance Again

Social media itself is not the problem.

There are also supportive communities, recovery voices and people sharing honest conversations about food and mental health.

But sometimes recovery involves learning to pause and ask:

Is this content helping me — or quietly making things harder?

Stepping away from triggering content, and remembering that an algorithm does not define our worth can be powerful steps.

Because food is meant to be part of life — not something that constantly makes us feel inadequate.

Final Thought

Many people blame themselves for struggling with food.

But few stop to consider how many thousands of messages about bodies and eating they absorb every week.

When those messages arrive constantly — through phones, feeds and algorithms — it becomes much harder to hear the quieter voice of hunger, trust and self-care.

Recovery is not about perfection.

It is about slowly learning to trust your body, your hunger and your needs again.

And sometimes, it begins with questioning the messages we see every day.

Recovery often begins quietly —by questioning the messages we’ve absorbed and remembering that our bodies deserve care, nourishment and compassion.

Helen Dean is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and Registered Counsellor based in Melbourne. 

Through her practice, Stepping Stones with Helen Dean, she supports adolescents, adults and families navigating eating disorders, ARFID, disordered eating and complex relationships with food.

Helen combines nutrition therapy with counselling approaches to help people rebuild trust with food, their bodies and themselves. Her work is grounded in compassion, practical support and an understanding that recovery is rarely straightforward.

Helen is particularly passionate about supporting families, helping young people feel less alone in recovery, and creating conversations around food that are calm, respectful and sustainable.